Field of the Invention
Method and device for aiding in manual handling of a work piece during machining
The invention relates to a method for aiding in manual handling of a work piece during machining.
Description of Related Art
When using for example a press brake for bending a sheet material, it is sometimes difficult to determine how to orient the work piece to perform the next machining step. A press brake typically is provided with several tools next to each other for performing the different machining steps. A first tool could cause the sheet material to bend upwardly, while a second tool could cause the sheet material to bend downwardly. Such choices are made depending on the intermediate shape of the work piece and the abilities of the tools and restrictions of the press brake.
Orienting the work piece for a next machining step requires spatial awareness of the operator, which sometimes is only obtained after a number of errors made during bending. First of all the correct part of the work piece has to be brought between the tools and secondly the correct side of the work piece has to face upwardly.
It is known to help the operator by showing a graphical representation of the work piece on the control screen of the press brake. This could still result in errors, because the operator could interpret the graphical representation incorrectly. Furthermore the operator has to take his/her eyes of the press brake and look at the control screen, which is undesired.
Similar problems with orienting the work piece can also arise with different types of machines, like for example a drilling machine, a milling machine or a welding machine.
It is an object of the invention to provide a method for aiding in manual handling of a work piece during machining, which reduces the chance on errors during machining of a work piece.